Monthly Archives: December 2014

I just finished reading the novel “The Children of Men”, by the late P.D. James, and I’ve seen the movie twice. The first time I saw the movie, I thought it was fantastic – the second time, I was disappointed in it. I’m going to be getting it soon on DVD from Netflix, and I’m curious to see what a third watching will be like, now that I’ve read the novel. I was quite surprised to see how much different the novel was than the movie – they really changed a lot of things in order to make it into a good movie. I’d say they did a fantastic job of changing and adding things to accomplish that.

Netflix streaming – they rated it 4.0 for me, and I did give it 4 stars. The general audience gave it 3.8. It was pretty good, certainly not great.

The actor playing Judge Dredd was Karl Urban, and I don’t think we ever saw more of his face than his mouth, in a sort of permanent scowl. He seemed to be playing the role in the classic Clint Eastwood mold Continue reading →

Netflix streaming – they rated it as a 4.3 for me, with the general audience giving it a 3.8. I gave it 4 stars, though a weak 4 stars. Written, directed, and starring Lake Bell, who I liked in the short-lived science fiction series Surface, it’s a romantic comedy that’s pretty good, but certainly not great. There are some pretty funny moments, and it’s interesting to see the world of voice-overs, but there’s not that much to recommend here.

Netflix streaming. They predicted it at 4.9 for me, with the general audience at 4.2. While it’s not normally what I would give 5 stars for, in this case I gave it five stars for the story and the man and not so much for the movie-making, which I felt was better in, say, The Crash Reel (see review several posts below).

This guy was amazing, a really unique person. I had read previously that his Mom said that she guessed that he had gotten over his fear of heights, but he said he hadn’t, and that was what made it fun. In the movie he mentioned, after landing yet another spectacular stunt, that he was still shaking. He had incredible courage to keep doing it. His wife’s comment, that making him stop would be like caging an eagle, was an eloquent way to describe his spirit. And his gift.

Netflix streaming – they predicted it at 3.9 for me, with the general audience (over 2 million ratings!) at 4.0. I guess I had high expectations for such a classic that I had never seen before, but I was really disappointed. I do like this poster, though:

The movie just seemed silly to me, and the delayed but predictable ending only helped a bit. Audrey Hepburn certainly was pretty, and I just learned that she actually sang Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” in the movie. I was impressed with the lip-syncing since I assumed it wasn’t her singing it – but I was wrong, and she did a great job with it. That bit was probably the highlight of the movie for me.

A collection of writings, essays, short stories, magazine articles, interviews, etc. … by Neal Stephenson, my favorite author. I found this to be a fascinating read across the board, whether he’s writing science fiction or discussing technical topics such as laying submarine cable along the bottom of the ocean. This guy knows so many interesting things and has a unique way of expressing them …

Netflix streaming. This movie was recommended at 4.5 for me, and 4.1 for the general audience. I’m not sure why, perhaps it is because Joss Whedon (of Buffy, Firefly, and Avengers fame) is the writer and executive producer? I gave it three stars

Netflix DVD. They predicted it at 4.3 for me, and it has 3.8 for the general audience. I gave it 5 stars.

Wow, this was a really spectacular movie, I can’t believe it got only a 65 on Rotten Tomatoes. Somebody is being a bit too picky about plot holes, I guess. I haven’t even thought about any plot holes, I just let the movie wash over me and it was amazing. Spectacular scenes, many funny bits, sibling rivalry roller-coaster, and a fantastic twist at the end. Not to mention gorgeous styling of costumes and scenery. What’s not to like?

William Gibson is one of my favorite authors, I started out reading Count Zero and then Neuromancer back in the 80’s, then bought every new novel of his as it came out. I just didn’t like them as much Continue reading →

Netflix streaming. This is somewhat of an off-putting title, and it’s a difficult, gloomy tv series to get into, but I really liked it. I just finished watching the series finale – season 4, episode 6, and it was quite good. A few things in this final season stretched belief, but it was a fitting end to the series. This show is based on the Danish TV series Forbrydelsen, which translates to “The Crime”. Perhaps that would have been a better title, but, in fact, the entire first season does relate to the investigation by two homicide detectives into a single murder. Check the Wikipedia entry for more details.